Kalmar will aim to extend their seven-point lead over Degerfors in the Swedish Allsvenskan table when the two sides do battle at Guldfageln Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts extended their unbeaten run to three games with a 1-1 draw against AIK Fotboll last time out, while the visitors suffered a humiliating 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Malmo.
Match preview
Kalmar appeared to be heading for a 1-0 victory over AIK Fotboll last weekend, courtesy of Lars Saetra's second-half goal, but an 84th-minute strike from Abdussalam Magashy saw the hosts snatch a share of the spoils at Friends Arena.
Following back-to-back victories over Varnamo and IFK Norrkoping, Henrik Jensen's men were minutes away from securing a third successive win last time out, but they will still be pleased to have maintained their unbeaten run.
Not only have KFF avoided defeat in each of their last three matches, but they have also avoided defeat in eight of their previous 10, picking up five wins and three draws to remain within touching distance of the European places.
Having lost just one of their five away league games this season – notching three victories while scoring two goals on four separate occasions – Kalmar will be confident of picking up another positive result at Guldfageln Arena on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Degerfors endured an embarrassing 5-0 defeat at Malmo last time out, failing to register a single shot on target while seeing 25% of the ball, with the hosts racking up a whopping 28 shots, 13 of which were on target.
Tobias Solberg's men have now failed to win any of their last three matches, recording draws against Hammarby and Varbergs BoIS before Monday's thrashing, with a solitary victory coming in their previous seven outings.
It is also worth pointing out that Degerfors possess the worst away record in the division, having scored just twice while conceding a whopping 22 goals across five defeats on the road.
After enduring a 6-0 thrashing at IFK Goteborg, the Orebro County outfit suffered a 6-1 crushing at the hands of Hacken before experiencing their latest away-day humiliation earlier this week, so Degerfors are bound to be low on confidence ahead of Saturday's trip to Kalmar.
Team News
Kalmar are still without long-term injury absentee Sebastian Nilsson, while midfielder Carl Gustafsson is expected to miss Saturday's showdown as he continues to recover from a concussion issue.
On a brighter note, winger Kevin Jensen is back in action after recovering from an ankle injury, while Isak Bjerkebo and Saku Ylatupa are also on the verge of returning to first-team action.
Top scorer Mileta Rajovic will fancy his chances of enhancing his tally of seven goals in 11 league games this weekend, with Noah Shamoun and Simon Skrabb expected to join the Danish striker in attack.
Degerfors, on the other hand, have reported no injury problems ahead of Saturday's clash, meaning that Tobias Solberg will likely stick with his favoured 3-4-3 formation.
Costa Rican forward Diego Campos looks set to feature alongside Rasmus Orqvist and Dijan Vukojevic in the visitors' forward line, while Liberia international Justin Salmon and Serbian youngster Damjan Pavlovic will anchor the midfield.
Kalmar possible starting lineup:
Friedrich; Landahl, Saetra, Sjostedt, Olafsson; Karlsson, Romarinho, Gojani; Skrabb, Rajovic, Shamoun
Degerfors possible starting lineup:
Olsson; Granath, Ohlsson, Chaouche; Bouzaiene, Pavlovic, Salmon, Gyau; Orqvist, Vukojevic, Campos
We say: Kalmar 3-0 Degerfors
Given that struggling Degerfors have conceded 17 goals in their last three away games, all the signs point towards a comfortable win for Kalmar, who look set to pick up their third victory in four matches without any problems.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
